HS TRACK: Solfanelli ready for biggest challenge in javelin

TIMES-TRIBUNE FILE Nick Solfanelli will compete in the USA Track and Field Junior Outdoor Championships this weekend.

A twist of fate has worked out pretty well for Nick Solfanelli.

While snowboarding with a friend during the winter of his freshman year, a freak accident resulted in a hand injury. It forced him out of baseball and into trying out for the track and field team.

After making the team, Solfanelli, who will be a senior at Scranton Prep, has developed into one of the most dominant stars in the javelin. This weekend, he will be competing at the USA Track and Field Junior Outdoor Championships at Historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.

It will be his second national meet of the offseason. He placed second at the New Balance National Outdoor Championships in North Carolina on June 14.

“Competing at Oregon is going to be pretty awesome,” Solfanelli said. “The University of Oregon has some of the best track facilities in the world. This is a huge meet.

“It is such a great opportunity, that I can’t wait.”

Growing up a baseball player, Solfanelli figured he would tryout for the team in his first spring at Scranton Prep.

Then came the unusual situation during the end of the winter.

On a late-season trip to Snö Mountain, Solfanelli lost his balance while getting off the ski lift. A friend came off shortly after and caught his left hand with a ski that caused a deep cut to his fingers and required stitches to heal.

“It was a scary moment because of the blood,” Solfanelli recalled.

With his non-throwing hand bandaged up, making it difficult to wear a baseball glove, he decided he should take a season off from baseball.

But his mom, Tina, suggested giving track and field a chance.

Soon, Solfanelli found himself interested in the throwing events. He started out trying the discus, because in the Lackawanna Track Conference, the javelin is not an event in dual meets at the junior high level.

He still took the time to learn and practice the javelin.

Solfanelli was a natural.

His strong right arm helped him capture first place at the Abington Heights Junior High Invitational meet with a throw of 147 feet, then he won another gold medal at the Phil Tochelli Jr. High Championship meet at 152-6, and he became committed to the event.

“Track was a little different at first for me,” Solfanelli said. “I knew that I wanted to throw the javelin. I got first at the invitational and I carried that momentum through from there.

“I really like this event.”

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In his sophomore season, Solfanelli began to sharpen his skills, which made a name for himself on the varsity level.

However, he happened to be competing against a loaded field of talented athletes at the District 2 Class AAA championship meet that season.

But it wasn’t a bad thing.

Having to be at his best brought out his competitive spirit, and Solfanelli qualified for the PIAA Championship meet despite finishing in sixth place. His distance of 181-0 met the qualifying standard.

After the state championship meet, Solfanelli competed at the New Balance National Championships and his confidence grew even more as he placed 13th.

“There were some great guys there and that helped me,” Solfanelli said. “We had Rob Castellani, Anthony Galantini, who is at Lehigh, and Anthony Bouselli, all great throwers in our conference.

“Then, after I went to nationals, I decided to get serious.”

Putting his mind to the sport, Solfanelli and his father, Jerry got advice and coaching from javelin guru Jeff Gorski at the national meet, and he directed them to coaches Barry Krammes, a two-time All-American at East Stroudsburg University and an Olympic Trials finalist, and John Kotchmar.

Almost every week since, Solfanelli gets coaching and instruction from the Javelin Factory in Mary-D in Schuylkill Township.

“His improvement from last year is quite remarkable,” Krammes said. “He came to our gym at The Javelin Factory and asked us to help guide him to that next level. He was like a sponge soaking in everything that we asked of him. He is a very coachable athlete and has an impressive ability to grasp concepts very quickly.”

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Now Solfanelli has his sights set on greater achievements.

With one huge throw at the Robert Spagna Championship meet, he became a known commodity.

He cleared 200 feet, good for the top-ranked throw in the state during the season. It won him the District 2 Class AAA championship. He had some struggles at the PIAA meet, but put them behind him when he launched a throw of 214-5 that earned him a silver medal to John Nizich, who threw 222-3, at the national high school championships.

It has put Solfanelli into elite company, ranking fifth in the country. Now major college programs have started recruiting him.

“It’s been a crazy ride,” Solfanelli said. “I have been on the radar since nationals. It is something that I am very thankful for. I am careful with my training and with my performances because this can be there and it can also be gone in a split second. So, I am always very appreciative.”

At this week’s event, Solfanelli will compete in a meet that attracts “the best athletes under the age of 20, including high school standouts and the nation’s most promising college freshmen,” according to the web site.

Curtis Thompson, who has the top high school throw in the country this year at 224-10, Nizich, Cody Walton, a freshman from the University of Nebraska, and Justin Carter, the 2013 Alabama state champion and Auburn freshman, are all among the entrants.

Athletes will try to win or throw better than 224 feet that would qualify for the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships, that will also be held in Eugene.

“If I can get to that, it would be incredible,” Solfanelli, 17, said. “My goal, though, is to just stay consistent and stay in the 200s. To get a PR (personal record) would be great. I have to do my homework and stay focused. I have been running through my approach and focusing in mentally on just doing my best.

“It’s just a really exciting time for me.”

Contact the writer:

jbfawcett@timesshamrock.com @JobyFawcett26 on Twitter

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